UK Sets Aside GBP 28 Million for Energy Innovation Projects, Offshore Wind Included

UK’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry Nick Hurd announced GBP 28 million in funding for a series of energy innovation projects.

The funding boost will be invested in smart systems, industrial energy reduction and offshore wind, Hurd said. A portion of the funds was set aside for the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub to help support the launch of its first programme, the Offshore Wind Innovation Exchange.

This forms part of the government’s commitment to double support for energy innovation, up to GBP 400 million per year in 2021, the ministry said.

This financial support follows on the government’s vision to ensure the UK continues to be the global leader in science and research. The country’s new Industrial Strategy has identified that more needs to be done to commercialise the world-class ideas and discoveries made in Britain, and put the UK and British companies at the forefront of innovation.

”Innovation in energy will play an important role to shape our low carbon future to rebuild an outdated energy system. That’s why we’ve increased our financial support, helping to create jobs and opportunities for people across the UK,” Hurd said.

”Our Industrial Strategy green paper seeks views on how we can support these emerging technologies, ensuring we drive growth and develop international partnerships across our world leading research, science and innovation sector.

To reduce the cost of energy for industry, the government will invest around GBP 9 million in a competition for ‘industrial energy efficiency accelerator’. The competition would help to find new ways of improving the energy efficiency of UK industry, helping to develop industry-specific options for a low carbon future.